Lt. Gen. David Thompson, vice commander of the U.S. Space Force, said the Department of Defense (DoD) is collaborating with the White House and intends to work with Congress to find ways how to help commercial space firms facing bankruptcy during the coronavirus pandemic, SpaceNews reported Tuesday.
“We want to see what we can do in terms of securing the capabilities we need for national security, number one, and ensuring that our adversaries don’t have the opportunity to acquire those capabilities,” Lt. Gen. Thomspon said Tuesday during an online interview with David Deptula, dean of the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
Thompson cited the Space Acquisition Council’s efforts and said that the planned discussion with Congress will identify, among others, investments that could be offered immediately to space companies in order for them to “provide capabilities we know we need, in areas we need to be more aggressive that are also going to help the commercial and national security space sector.”
DoD has expressed concerns that China could make a move to acquire national security-related assets of space companies facing financial setbacks.
